Police gearing for festive season

Police are bracing themselves for an increase in crime as the festive season approaches, national commissioner Riah Phiyega said on Thursday.

“As early as October we start to see an increase in armed robberies in shopping centres and spaza shops, as well as more frequent attempts at cash-in-transit heists,” she said in a speech prepared for delivery.

“For this reason, we begin to take counter-measures and commence with our safer festive season operations during October.”

She was speaking in George, Western Cape, at the launch of operation duty calls.

She said during the holiday season police across the country faced increases in crimes that were generally low throughout the year.

In the so-called “empty” provinces, such as Gauteng, police experienced an upward trend in housebreakings, while at holiday destinations there was more contact crime.

“As liquor outlets and drug dealers enjoy a boom in business we experience an upsurge in social contact crimes such as assault, rape, other sexual offences, and domestic violence.”

During this period police were forced to perform duties besides their core responsibilities of crime prevention and detection.